The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1542609
18 THE WOLVERINE ❱ FEBRUARY 2026 BY CHRIS BALAS O ne of the last things we thought we'd be doing in December was covering a Michigan football coach- ing search, even after the Wolverines lost to Ohio State for the first time since 2019. The Wolverines finished 9-3 with set- backs to the three "good" teams on the schedule, but Sherrone Moore seemed to have a strong young roster and a good recruiting class coming in. But on Dec. 5, Moore was fired for an inappropriate relationship with a staffer, opening the door for another chapter in Michigan football history. Alabama's Kalen DeBoer, Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham, interim coach Biff Poggi, and others were all on the short list, per reports. In the end, the Wolverines went with a coach who has proven to be one of the best of the last two decades in Kyle Whittingham. Utah's head coach the last 21 years, Whittingham built a program based on toughness and discipline, two qualities Michigan needs most right now after be- ing in the spotlight for the wrong rea- sons. The hire was praised nationally by opponents and experts alike. "Kyle Whittingham is a well-re- spected and highly successful head coach who is widely recognized as a leader of exceptional character and principled leadership," Michigan athletics director Warde Manuel said. "Throughout our search, he consistently demonstrated the qualities we value at Michigan: vision, resilience, and the ability to build and sustain championship-caliber teams. "Kyle brings not only a proven track record of success, but also a commit- ment to creating a program rooted in toughness, physicality, discipline and respect — where student-athletes and coaches represent the university with distinction both on and off the field." Whittingham, 66, comes to Ann Arbor after finishing his 21st season as Utah's head coach in 2025 and his 32nd overall season with the Utes. He had been the program's head coach since December 2004 and was a member of the coaching staff since 1994, serving as then-head coach Urban Meyer's defensive coordi- nator in the 2003 and '04 seasons. A sure Hall of Famer, Whittingham is Utah's all-time wins leader (177), and he ranks third in victories among all ac- tive FBS head coaches and third among head coaches who remained at the same school. He finished with a 177-88 (.668) record at Utah, and the Utes had a win- ning record in 18 of his 21 seasons as head coach. They won 10-plus games in a season on eight occasions (2008, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2025). Whittingham's teams were also im- pressive in the postseason, winning 11 bowl games (11-6), which ranks among the top four active coaches. He has led Utah to 11 different bowl games during his tenure, including two Rose Bowls, one Fiesta Bowl and one Sugar Bowl. Most recently, without him on the side- line, the 15th-ranked Utes hammered Nebraska in the Dec. 31 Las Vegas Bowl. Whittingham is the second-longest- tenured active head football coach in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision, behind only Iowa's Kirk Ferentz. He led Utah to three conference champion- ships, including an undefeated 2008 sea- son capped by a Sugar Bowl win over Al- abama. He earned three national Coach of the Year awards, including the AFCA and Bear Bryant Awards in 2008 and the Bobby Dodd Trophy in 2019. "If you had asked me prior to this to name my favorite head coaches in the sport, his name would've been one of the very first I mentioned," former Michigan Heisman Trophy winner and current ESPN analyst Desmond Howard said after the hire. "He's exactly what Michigan needs right now. Coach Whit- tingham commands immense admira- tion across college football, from the media to fellow coaches. Anytime his name comes up among my peers, the A NEW ERA BEGINS Kyle Whittingham Becomes Michigan's 22nd Football Coach